Onondaga Lake might not be one of the most polluted lakes in the country for much longer.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced a $449 million proposal for the cleanup of Onondaga Lake. The proposed cleanup, which would remove 2.65 million cubic yards of mercury contaminated sediment from the lake’s bottom, is estimated to take seven years, said Michael Fraser, spokesman for the DEC.

In addition, the cleanup will cap off portions of the lake’s bottom with sand and gravel to prevent mercury from escaping into the environment, Fraser said.

Onondaga Lake’s contamination began almost a hundred years ago when Allied-Signal Inc. dumped hazardous chemicals into Onondaga Creek, said Richard Smardon, a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry professor. In 1989, the state sued Allied for natural resource damages caused by the company’s pollution of the Onondaga Lake system.

According to Smardon, there is some concern that there are could problems with removing and storing the sediment on the lake bottom due to the amount of mercury in it.

‘I think it will help,’ Smardon said. ‘The problem is what happens with all the stuff that you dredge up from the lake. Where do you store it? It needs a secure landfill because you don’t want it to get back into the environment.’

Victoria Streitfeld, spokeswoman for Honeywell International, Inc., which now owns Allied, said the company is committed to removing the pollutants from Onondaga Lake.

‘Honeywell and DEC share the same goal – to implement a cleanup that protects human health and the environment,’ Streitfeld said.

Part of the funding for the proposal was secured by Rep. James Walsh, R-Onondaga, Fraser said.

‘We’ve had constant dialogue with Congressman Walsh,’ Fraser said. ‘He’s obviously been a strong advocate for the cleanup of Onondaga Lake and he’s been a valued partner in our efforts to move forward with this project.’

The Onondaga Lake Partnership, an organization that has advocated measures for the cleanup of Onondaga Lake since 1999, said it approves of the DEC’s proposal.

‘The Onondaga Lake Partnership fully supports the many cleanup projects on Onondaga lake,’ said Marianne Rogers, a member of the OLP outreach committee. ‘We look forward to a final agreement.’

But the proposal has not been finalized yet, said Fraser.

‘(The proposal) will go under an extended robust public comment period,’ Fraser said. ‘We look forward to input from the community.’

Published on November 30, 2004 at 12:00 pm